Collapsible boat



Jan. 11, 1944. w scHUTTE COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Filed July 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 11,1944.

w. SCHUTTE 2,338,976

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT v F 119d y '7. 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5

Patented Jan. 11, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" oouiarsmria BOAT Willi Schiitte, Berlin, Germany; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application July "I, 1939, Serial No. 283,390

Germany July 8, 1938 3 Claims. ,(Cl. 8-2) to the boat longitudinally. Erecting such a boat is tedious and requires great care, as otherwise the skeleton will occupy an oblique position in the cover. The usual small air reservoirs 01' mb ber cloth aiiord but little safety against sinking of the boat when the boat becomes leaky.

Collapsible boats are also known in which the skeleton includes lateral structures subdivided by a longitudinal partition and connected by hinges. Under the pressure of inflatable rubber tubes arranged between the lateral structures and the covering, the structures act on the bottom of the boat and the deck bracing, and exert ten sion on the covering. The side structures do not extend as far as the stem and the stern post. but they only extend for one or more pitches of the frames and are not connected longitudinally to each other, so that the longitudinal strength of the boat is poor.

These drawbacks are eliminated according to the present invention which relates to a collapsible or folding boat with a ioldable inner skeleton, a covering, and inflatable air tubes between the skeleton and the covering. According to the in vention, the skeleton consists in substance of two elastic longitudinal members which are curved in their longitudinal direction, and solid throughout their height from the bottom to the deck of the boat. The longitudinal members extend from the stem to the stern of the boat, and bracing members are inserted between them. Arranged between the skeleton and the water tight covering are air tubes which extend' throughout the length of the boat. In this man nor, the inner skeleton consisting of longitudinal members, transverse bracing members, and bottom boards, makes up a stiff body of rectanguiar cross-section which does not require transverse frames, is very strong in its longitudinal direction, and light. The covering is readily placed in the proper position on the body in untensloned condition and is imparted tension and the proper boat shape by inflation oi the air The longitudinal members, the bottom parts, and the longitudinal stringersif any-below the bottom are subdivided, in the usual manner, by transverse partitions, and the individual units thus obtained are connected by hinges or turnbuckles of usual kind, so that their ends are in close engagement after they have been assembled.

Preferably, the air tubes are subdivided into.

compartments by suitable, air tight transverse partitions, so that a eufflcient amount of buoyancy is present even if one of the compartments is' damaged. preserving the transverse stability ofth'e boat andpreventing sinking.

Allflttings, and especially the stern post, are preferably attached to the skeleton. so that the covering is clear of fittings.

" The construction which has been described,

with bracing members arranged transversely between the longitudinal members, is preferred for comharativeiy small boats. For larger boats,

transverse "members at the level of the deck are dispensed" with by making the said longitudinal members at their upper sides with a plurality of bracing railssuperimposed in the manner oi lamellae, which are curved to the curvature of the longitudinal members and are then firmly connected to the longitudinal members under high 'i'riction, holding such members in the curved condition. I when it is desired to design the collapsible boat for the reception oi an engine, the cross-sections or the air tubes may be adapted at the rear to a wide stern braced by a board.

In the accompanying drawings, boats ofthe two types aforesaid are illustrated by way of exarriule.

in the drawings, Figs. 1 to 5 illustrate the first type, and Figs. 6 to 9 illustrate the second type. I More particularly ,Fig. i is an elevation of the boat, partly in longitudinal section.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view of the boat, with the covering removed at the right for exposing the corre sponding longitudinal member and the bracing members extending transversely thereto.

Fig 3 is a erode-section of the boat.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of its cmkpit frame, and

Fig; 5 is a sectional elevation of the boat's stern. drawn to a larger scale and showing the stern post and the rudder.

Fig. 6 isan elevation, and 'Fig. 7 is a plan view, or thelarger boat embodying the secondtype. 1

Figs. 1 to 5, a pair of longitudinal members a extend all over the length of the boat and are connected at their ends to the stem at and the stern d by screws or other detachable means. The longitudinal members a are arranged in vertical, or substantially vertical, position, and are made of thin plywood or some other suitable material. The upper edge of each longitudinal member a is reinforced bya'. wooden rail Go, and its lower edge is reinforced by a wooden rail an. Lower bracing members are placed on the lower rails a and equipped with 'tenons at both ends. The tenons are inserted in holes in the two longitudinal members a and the bracing members 0 hold the elastic longitudinal-members a spread apart in curved configuration, as shown in Fig. 2 for the longitudinal member a at the right. A bottom b including stringers and bottom boards is arranged below the lower bracing members c and secured by screws, turnbuckles, hooks, or the like, of usual kind. Upper bracing members 0 are placed on the upper rails as of the longi tudinal members a fore and aft of the cockpit frame g for holding apart the upper portions of the longitudinal members, and'supporting the deck of the boat.

The longitudinal members a and the bottom parts I) are subdivided into individual sections transversely, and the sections are preferably comnected by hinges s, as shown. The connecting means must be so made that the edges of the sections forming the longitudinal members a or the bottom 2) are abutted squarely'when assem bled, and the sections cannot bend at the joints. Preferably, the joints are staggered in the longitudinal members a and in the bottom 22.

A tight covering of textile material e is placed on the skeleton comprising the elements a, b, c,

c, d, and d.

The, deck portion of the covering c has a central cockpit aperture with a wooden cockpit frameg which is divided and whose sections are connected in the usual manner. The sides of the cockpit frame g are supported by the upper rails (to of the two longitudinal members a. The fore and aft ends of the cockpitframe g are supported by the longitudinal members a through roofshaped cant rails c" andc' respectively. Ridge beams, as shown at c, Fig. 1, for the aft portion of the boat, extend to the stem (1 andthe stem (1' from the respective cant rails, and the ends of the beams are suitably connected to the corresponding elements in any well known way. I

Inserted between the outer sides of the longitudinal members a and the covering'e are inflatable tubes 1 of rubber or the like, with pointed ends. The tubes extend from the stem to the stern and are subdivided into any number of airtight compartments by partitions one of which is shown in dotted lines at 't in Fig. 2 and which are provided with suitable check valves, not

shown. The air tubes can be inflated by a blower.

A rudder bearing-h is secured to the stern d, Fig. 5, and a rudder pivot i is screwed into the bearing through a hole kin the covering 8. When the pivot i has been inserted in the fitting h it is locked by a lock nut u and the boss of the rudder l is placed on the pivot i, the lock nut u acting in the manner of a step bearing.

when it is desired to assemble the boat, the sections of the longitudinal members a, the bottom b, and the stem and stem (1 and d are inserted into the covering e and the tubes I are placed between the longitudinal member sections and the covering. The several sections are now connected, and the transverse bracing members 0 at the bottom, and c' at the deck, are inserted and secured, bending the longitudinal members a into the desired curvature. Thecockpit frame 9 and the cant rails c" and c'are now assembled and the tubes 1 are inflated. The rudder pivot i is threaded into the fitting hnand the boss of the rudder l is placed on the pivot. The rudder l is operated in the usual way by a yoke and cables.

Since the covering e becomes taut only upon inflation of the tubes 1, the boat is very conveniently assembled. The skeleton makes the boat very strong longitudinally but at the same time the skeleton is light, as it is without frames. The

tubes I afford great safety against capsizing and sinking of the boat, give the boat a taut and smooth skin and are very resistant to lateral shocks. The rudder reactions are absorbed directly by the skeleton, and the covering e cannot be damaged by the rudder.

Referring now to Figs. 6 to 9, the general construction of this boat is similar to that which has been described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5, and similar parts are provided with the same reference numerals in all figures.

In this boat, which, as mentioned, is larger than the one previously described, the bottom boards b occupy the entire space between the longitudinal members a. The boards, which may be made of plywood, are placed on the upper edges of the lower bracing members 0 to whose lower edges stringers are secured in th usual manner by screws. or the like.

As mentioned, the upper bracing members c are dispensed with here, and other means must be provided for imparting the desired curvature to the upper edges of the longitudinal members. Such means are a gunwal at each member a which consists of an outer strip m, and an inner strip m, of elastic wood. The strips are placed side by side like lamellae (see Figs. 7 and 8), and are straight when free. When the longitudinal members a and the lower bracing members c have been assembled, the two strips m, m for each longitudinal member a are bent to the curvature of the members a and then are connected with great friction to the corresponding upper rail as against which they are held by screw bolts n equipped with wing nuts and extending through holes in the rail and the two strips. The strips 172, m and the rails (10 now make up a substantially rigid, curved beam and the bracing members 0' may be dispensed with. The upper edge of the covering e is clamped between the rails a0 and the strip m at each longitudinal member a.

If it is intended that the boat should be motordriven, the aft ends of the tubes 1 are made with their full diameter, as shown in Fig. 9, and a board it issecured to the broad stern thus produced. A motor, not shown, can be attached to this board.

Boats of this second type can bemade 10 metreslong, and even longer, and provided with an outboard motor at the stern board d". Detachable seats or folding chairs may be used.

I claim:

1.. A boat collapsible lengthwise and crosswise tight covering consisting of cloth and projecting and said longitudinal members being subdivided inwardly on the upper face of the boat, and iiiinto Several detachable Sections y S s lying fiatable air tubes arranged between said skeleton transverse to e m dship vertical plane so as to be and i covering and extending through its collapsible, said sections being connectibletoeach length, said skeleton comprising in substance a 5 other and detachable elastic strips d a s to bottom, narrow bracing elements disposed transconnect Said strips to the upper e es 1' Sa d versely of the boat and two elastic longitudinal longitudinal members, d longitudinal members side members which are curved in their longitubeing e d in curved configuration at their up dinal direction and are arranged each with its edges y d detachable st s p aced s y side long cross-sectional dimension in vertical posilamellfle fashion, which s rips are bent to the t n nd extending from the stem to the stern curvature of the longitudinal members and are and from the bottom to the deck of the boat and then connected to the members at high friction. being spaced by said transverse bracing elements, 3. A boat collapsible lengthwise and crosswise said bottom and said longitudinal members being comprising a ps e inne S eton. a watersubdivided into several detachable sections by ig t covering consisting of th nd p ojec n seams lying transverse to the midship vertical inwardly on the upper face of the boat, and inplane so as to be collapsible, said sections being fl fl e l bes anged between said skeleton connectible to each other, fittings being provided and said covering and extending through its and all fittings, including a rudder bearing, belength, said skeleton comprising in substance a ing secured directly to the skeleton, the covering bottom, narrow bracing elements disposed transbeing free from fittings, versely of the boat and two elastic longitudinal 2. A boat collapsible lengthwis and crosswise side members which are curved in their longitucomprising a collapsible inner skeleton, a waterdinal direction and are arranged each with its tight covering consisting of cloth and projecting long cross-sectional dimension in vertical posiinwardly on the upper face of the boat, inflattion and extending from the stem to the stem and able air tubes arranged between said skeleton from the bottom to the deck of the boat and and said covering and extending through its being spaced by said transverse bracing elements. length, said skeleton comprising in substance a said bottom and said longitudinal members bebottom, narrow bracing elements disposed transing subdivided into several detachable sections versely of the boat and two elastic longitudinal by seams lying sv r e to the ship vertiside members which are curved in their longitucal plane so as to be collapsible, said sections dinal direction and are arranged each with its long being connectible to each other, a broad stern cross-sectional dimension in vertical position and board being provided, the cross-sections oi the extending from the stem to the stern and from the air tubes being adapted to said broad stern board, bottom to the deck of the boat and being spaced in order to use the boat as a motor boat.

by said transverse bracing elements, said bottom WILLI SCHU'I'I'E. 

